Eve of the Spiders
by sugardandy
Summary: ShinoOC Saori died when she was 17, but she is allowed to live again if she becomes a spider tamer and at the cost of her memories. Saori grows attached to a fellow bug wielding ninja and she realizes that she may not want to remember her tragic death
1. Prologue: Afterworld

**Eve of the Spiders**

**Shino Romance**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto and Co.**

**Summary:**** Saori was an orphan who died at age 17, but after making a deal with an angel she gets the chance to live again … with one condition. If you had a second chance at life what would you do? **

**Shino/OC**

**I noticed there was a serious lack of Shino fiction compared to other characters. Shino needs love too!!! Anyway, this is my new OC story in a series of OC stories. I am basically pairing off all the original Naruto characters and creating OC's for the guys not in the traditional pairings. **

**Some random characters from my other stories may appear, and some may just be mentioned. I just thought it was a shame to come up with so many characters and not be able to use them again!**

**Prologue**

**Afterworld**

"What is with this place…?"

There was nothing but swirling mists around me for as far as Saori could see. There was so visible ground, or even a real source of light. Nothing at all made sense at all, and Saori wasn't exactly sure what to do. She was walking around in the middle of nowhere and getting no place fast.

_SPLASH._

She screeched in surprise as her feet hit a sudden half a foot drop into ice cold water. She stepped backwards to try and get out but the water was suddenly everywhere and it was making her toes go numb.

Saori continued on in the shin deep water, trying to find a way out of where ever she was until something floating in the water bumped against her leg.

Looking down, Saori first noticed the rusty copper coloured hair swaying angelically in the water. It took a few minutes for her to realize it was a body, and even longer for her to find the choppy hair style and thin build familiar…

Panicking, the teen turned the body over so the face was visible. The long copper coloured bangs clung to the young heart shaped face of a seventeen-year-old girl. The skin that had been formerly pale on the body anyway was drained of any possible colour and the lips were a light shade of blue. There were lots of cuts and bruises up the arms and on the face, a couple of the bumps on the head looked like they could have caused a concussion, and dark circles had formed around the barely opened amber eyes, but those eyes were glazed over … there was no life in them.

'_I-It's … me…'_

"It's always shocking at first, seeing yourself like that I mean," a soft voice spoke from behind Saori.

Saori jumped out of her skin, falling into the water out of surprise before being able to turn and see who it was.

A young woman, possibly a little older than Saori was walking on the surface of the water, looking down on Saori calmly. She had silvery blonde shoulder length hair that went with her white skin and white grown.

The woman smiled sadly and offered Saori a hand up, "Sorry about that. I have a bad habit of sneaking up on people."

The rusty haired teen just looked up at the blonde with a lost stare before mumbling, "What is going on … who are you…?"

"Lots of things, Saori-chan," the blonde responded calmly. "I've had lots of names over the years, but you can just call me Yuuki, I'm the one in charge of very special cases, like yours. I'm here to escort you back to the world of the living."

"I-I'm in the land of the dead…?"

"Not exactly, you're kind of caught in the middle right now. This is the boarder between the two worlds. You should consider yourself lucky, Saori-chan. Not many people who pass through here get to go back the other way."

Saori blinked again, only vaguely remembering bits and pieces of her life. She knew she was an orphan, and she'd been so very alone – even bitter – most of her life. When someone finally noticed her she became an average citizen working to earn her living. She wasn't the smartest person alive, and she certainly wasn't the fastest or the strongest. She had no real outstanding qualities or talents. The only thing she was known for was being a klutz. So she had to wonder…

"Why me? Why am I so special?"

Yuuki shrugged, "I'm not told much. All assignments are decided by upper management. All I do know is that this was decided before you were born. You were supposed to die, and you were supposed to live again. Get it?"

"K-kind of…" she mumbled.

"BUT," Yuuki announced loudly, "reanimation doesn't come cheep you know. There is a price _and_ conditions…"

Saori blinked again, still behind in exactly what was going on, "What price, and what the hell are these conditions?"

"Upper management made a deal with some old friends, and, as a result, we are in need of someone to carry a new Kekkai Genkai. Preferably we need a healthy young woman who would be able to reproduce the line for generations to come," Yuuki explained. "You'll be granted great potential for power and a renewed life span, but in return, you must pass on this ability to a female heir. The price of this new life is simple, if you wish to live, you must forfeit all your memories."

"Huh…?" the rust haired teen was slightly taken back, "My memories…? So I'm going to live but all the people I cared about are going to be gone from my life?!"

"We can't have you going and spreading ideas about the afterlife can we? So the only solution is to make you give up all your memories, but I'll be nice, I'll let you keep your name."

Saori glanced at the body again, her stomach still felt uneasy.

"For all the bad times you experience there will be good times and rewards, but if you're not alive to experience them, then your life will be incomplete. Saori, I know this seems … more than a little strange, but there is still so much you can do. The higher-ups have a plan for all of us, with every person you encounter you create a chain of events, and you are meant to influence many lives."

She would have refused. She didn't want to give up the people she cared for just so she could come back from the dead. What was the point of living when you no longer have anyone to live for anyway? Besides, why should she be the one to go back? She may have only been seventeen, but people younger – and possibly more deserving – than her died every day and they never got a second chance. What made her so important?

The mists circled her in a nonexistent wind, making her mind a bit fuzzy. Some memories were already starting to fade away…

"So, what will it be, Saori-chan?"

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**I should be updating biweekly since I am trying to keep two stories going at once. I just could decide because I had two totally new ideas I thought would be interesting, so be patient people!**

**Review and cookies will rain from the sky!!!**

**Starchip13**


	2. Saori and the Spider

**Chapter #1**

**Saori and the Spider**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto and Co.**

"Speech"

'_Thought'_

"_Inner voices from memory"_

_**Dreams**_

_Other speech_

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Aburame Shino had always been a loner, ever since before he could remember. He always preferred to train by himself.

When he was old enough to go to the academy he still preferred to be off on his own when he trained, did his class assignments, etc, etc. For the first few days were fine, everyone simply left him alone, at least until the girls started to think of her quiet – almost cold – exterior as 'cool'. Since he never spoke or voluntarily showed any skill in front of his classmates they started to get curious, and soon they wouldn't leave him alone … at least until Shino released a wave of kikaichuu on his classmates…

No one bothered him after that.

Then he ended up in a three man cell with a noisy dog loving idiot and a shy stuttering Hyuga heiress, and in the beginning he still ended up avoiding contact with the others. It was a while before they all warmed up to each other, and even longer before Shino grew more tolerant to Kiba's outbursts and more understanding of Hinata's shyness.

It was a small accomplishment, but they were the only two people outside of his clan that truly accepted him, and the only people that ever seemed to grow on him. They were the only people he trained with when he didn't feel like training alone.

"Ano … S-Shino-kun, K-Kiba-k-kun, we s-should call it a d-day, it looks l-like a b-bad storm is c-c-coming…" Hinata mumbled.

Both Shino and Kiba knew she was right. The air had been humid all day, and for the past few hours they'd been training thick clouds had gathered and all but completely blotted out the sun. It would start coming down any minute.

"Hinata's right," Shino responded quietly, "We should all get back before it gets too late anyway."

And so the team departed, each going their separate ways.

A few of his kikaichuu that had been wondering around the training grounds while Shino was training returned to his body. Most of them had nothing special to report outside the fact that there were an unusually high number of spiders wondering around the trees.

To get back to the Aburame complex Shino had to cross the river that ran through Konoha, so to get home he had to cross the bridge. Had one of his stray kikaichuu not come back chattering to the others about something in the water he would never have noticed the body that washed up on the riverbed.

Shino's eyes narrowed to try and get a better look.

It was a girl, not much younger than Shino, lying half buried in the sand on the edge of the river. Her face was mostly covered in the wet mud and sand that plastered her hair to her face, and the glasses sitting on his nose were so covered with grime her eyes weren't even visible. Her mouth was filled with water and hung open slightly. As if that wasn't enough, she was covered it bumps, bruises and cuts all over her body, and there was one particularly nasty one just above her brow.

'_She hit a lot of rapids on the way down here which means she washed down from way up river … possibly even past the waterfall…' _

The nineteen-year-old Jounin jumped off the bridge and landed on the moist riverbank. His bugs were already inspecting the body, so he automatically knew she had no pulse. She'd already drown quite some time ago.

She was dead.

Shino carefully removed the girl's glasses so she could see her face better. Perhaps she was a girl from the village.

"COUGH! COUGH!"

Water began gurgling up past the girl's sandpapered lips and her body convulsed as soon as Shino touched her.

"Miss…?" Shino mumbled softly.

She didn't appear to hear him. She was concentrating too hard on breathing.

Shino picked up the girl just as the rain started to come down.

He couldn't have been sure – because of the rain – but Shino was almost positive he saw her crying…

0000

"_**Oi, four-eyes, you wake?"**_

"_**Hm?" **_

"_**You fell asleep, four-eyes-chan, and now it's time for you to wake up! Don't sleep the day away!"**_

"Ow…." The copper haired girl groaned as the throbbing of her temples brought her back to consciousness. She winced, and turned around to burry her face in a pillow that had way to much starch in it.

Everything hurt. Every single muscle in her body was stiff and sore, and her skull felt like it was being cracked open with a hammer. Her heart throbbed as well, but she wasn't sure if it was a physical because of the moisture running down from her eyes.

'_Where am I anyway?'_ the young girl blinked at her blurry surroundings. Even with her eyes open she couldn't see a thing, just a jumble of blurry outlines and colours, _'What is going on here?'_

The copper haired teen felt around her surroundings blindly until she found the bedside table. There was something sitting on it, something cool, smooth and around. She picked it up and let her fingers run over them, they were glasses…

'_I-I wear glasses don't I?'_ she realized. _'How could I just forget something like that? Why can't I remember anything at all?'_

The world came into focus when the glasses when she put the glasses on. She was in a white room, a hospital room, which was virtually bare with the exception of the bed, a small table, and an IV stand. The tiny window was covered by some off-white blinds so the white walls didn't completely blind the girl when she awoke. There was a clock right above the door that read 6:10 am in oversized black numbers – made for elderly patience with bad eyesight. Sitting on the table – next to where her glasses had been – was a shiny silver tray containing several IV tools, a few syringes and some other common hospital equipment.

Moving aside the tools, she picked the tray up to look at herself.

A pair of amber eyes – magnified by her large glasses – blinked at her from behind a veil of dark copper coloured bangs. Her bangs and side bangs were longer than the rest in the back, and it was all sticking out awkwardly from intense bed head. There were bandages almost everywhere, leaving little visible skin, even on her face.

"Is that … me?"

Thud.

She froze, something bumped into the leg of the bed, making it shake slightly. Something was scuttling around underneath the bed…

Grabbing one of the needles from the table the teen positioned herself by the edge of the bed, ready to strike if something popped out. She listened tensely to the tapping sounds of several tiny footsteps…

'_It's a … it's a…' _

A black blur shot up from under the bed, hitting the copper haired teen in the face and pinning her to the bed. She struggled against it before she realized that it wasn't hurting her, it was purring…

'…_It's a … spider…?' _

A large black spider – maybe the size of a large house cat – was making itself comfortable on her chest, like an affectionate kitten. Its long black legs curled under it and it stared her right in the eye with its large black eyes. The spider was almost completely black with the exception of the strange red mark on its back.

'…'

The spider lifted one of its legs, revealing a note that had been tied to its leg with the name 'Saori' written on the front.

"Is that my name?" she asked the spider, not really expecting an answer. _'It probably is, but for some reason I just can't remember… I guess this spider belongs to someone who knew me. Maybe it can tell me what is going on.'_

Saori opened the note and began reading:

Dear Saori-chan,

I had to keep up my end of the deal didn't I? Take good care of Seakagokegumo (you can just call her Seaka), ok? She's still young after all!

Arigato, Yuuki

"Well then…" Saori paused before tossing the letter aside in frustration, "that doesn't help me one bit!"

The spider jumped at the sudden volume of Saori's voice and scuttled over to the pillow where it would be out of the way.

"Man, I'm going to go ask someone what is going on!" stated Saori stubbornly to no one in particular.

As Saori headed for the door she heard a familiar sound of several sets of tiny feet pattering on the ground behind her, so she paused and as she did the tiny footsteps also stopped. She turned around and the spider was standing right behind her just looking up at her.

"Uh … Seaka, right?"

The large black spider twitched, responding to the sound of its name.

'_Whoever wrote that letter expects me to take care of a giant spider?' _Saori made a small waving motion, "Shoo, shoo, don't follow me."

Seaka took a small step back but jumped right back, making strange clicking noises. She lifted her two front legs and mimicked Saori by waving them back at her.

'_It … _she_ is like a … puppy.'_ Saori couldn't help but be amused. Apparently she wasn't afraid of spiders, she was just freaked out that it was so big, but there was no way she was going to take care of a giant spider just because someone she'd never met asked her to in a note. Not a chance.

"Listen, Seaka, you _can't_ come with me," she made sure to speak extra slow just to be sure the spider understood, "now I want you to go back to this 'Yuuki' person, do you understand? So … go … got it?"

Neither of them moved for a long time. They just sort of stared at each other.

"Good," Saori stated finally and turned back to the door.

She got a feeling of impending doom as soon as she opened the door. Before she was even able to turn Seaka had reared up and jumped right on Saori's back. She wasn't light at all, and the surprise attack sent them both tumbling to the floor.

"Goddamn it! GO AWAY!"

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**Sorry its so short, but I wanted to get up an actual first chapter instead of just a prologue. I'll try and make later ones a little longer.**

**Reviews are loved**

**Starchip13**


	3. Apparently

**Chapter #2**

**Apparently**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto and Co.**

**Yay, new chapter! Like I said, biweekly updates, maybe some spontaneous updating if I hit writing streak. **

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"Morning, Shino-kun," Sakura waved absently over her stack of paperwork. She didn't need to look up to know it was him because more often than not one of his bugs would show up just before his arrival. Not that _anyone_ from the Aburame clan showed up at the hospital that often.

"Tsunade-sama said you had an assignment for me?" he responded, voice as stoic as ever.

"Hai," Sakura pushed her paperwork aside and brought out a hospital file. "That girl you brought in last night – the one that drowned in the river – is sleeping in recovery now. She had no identification on her, so we still don't know who she is. All we can tell is that she is probably a civilian because she had no weapons and her build is too slight. Her body hasn't undergone any sort of shinobi training."

Shino remained silent, automatically assuming there was some kind of catch.

"There was one thing I found a little odd… Ever since she arrived she's been healing at an incredible rate. From the state of her injuries when she arrived, she shouldn't be able to go into recovery so quickly. You said she looked like she washed down from way upriver, but she doesn't have a single broken bone and she _barely_ has a concussion."

'_She was dead when I found her,'_ Shino's brow drew together slightly, _'icy skin, water filled lungs, no pulse … it's almost as though she came back from the dead.'_

"Anyway," Sakura continued, "she should be awake by the end of today, and we need someone to profile her. Get her name, where she is from, etc, etc. With your bugs on her you can tell if she is lying easily."

Shino nodded.

"Leave! Down! HEAL! _SOMETHING_! DAMNIT TO HELL!"

Both Jounin glanced to the door listening to the footsteps rushing past the door, or rather a couple of sets of footsteps.

Sakura got to her feet and hesitantly swung the door open, "Whoever the hell that was … they aren't going far, it's a dead end down that hallway…"

The moment the door opened and Shino stepped out someone slammed into him. Shino barely moved – though he was surprised he didn't see it coming – but whoever bumped into him toppled to the floor with a loud thud and a lot of cursing.

Shino looked down at the girl on the floor. She was dressed in the light pink hospital gown with matching off-white leggings, and any skin that should have been visible was covered in bandages. Her face was shielded by a mop cut of dark reddish brown hair that was unkempt and sticking out at awkward angles in short spikes that hung over a pair of large round glasses.

'_It's her,'_ Shino almost felt as though he'd been struck dumb, _'The girl I pulled from the river.'_

Pushing the hair out of her face with one hand, she looked up at him curiously. She had amber eyes, the colour of the highlights in her hair from the fluorescent lighting. They were bright eyes, very lively, expressive and full of energy. She was the furthest thing from dead. She was running around the hospital when she should still be in recovery.

"Oomph!" she lurched forward. Something crawled up her back, making her squirm around to try and get it off. "Get it off me!"

A spider crawled over her shoulder and settled itself on her lap like a well trained pet. Shino was slightly surprised by the sight, but Sakura – who he assumed had spider issues like some people did – took one giant leap back at the sight of the oversized arachnid.

"The both of you can see the spider too, right?" she asked hesitantly.

Nod.

"Right, then I am not just hallucinating. That's a good thing … I guess." She paused, fingering a ball of crumpled paper in her fist before speaking again. "Would either of you know where I can find someone named 'Yuuki' by any chance, would you?"

Head shake.

"Right, well, one more question then," she stated in a slightly dejected voice, "where the heck am I anyway?"

000

"Alright, just follow the light with your eyes please," instructed Sakura, "…and please tell the spider to stop trying to tip over the scalpel tray?"

"If she actually listened to me then she wouldn't still be following me."

"_She_?"

"Apparently."

The spider tapped the shiny tray on the table next to the bed and watched the metal instruments inside it rattle. Out of amusement she tapped it a little harder, tipping the entire thing over and sending sharp blades tumbling to the linoleum floor with a loud crash. She jumped at the disturbance and ran back onto its 'master's' lap.

Sakura's skin erupted in goosebumps when then spider suddenly got so close, "S-so what is your name anyway?"

"Uh … Saori," the girl responded, "…I think."

"You think?"

"It was the name on the note Seaka gave me, so apparently my name is Saori."

"Let me rephrase that," Sakura sighed, "Do you remember _anything_?"

"I … well … uh," Saori rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "… apparently not."

"Oh dear…"

Saori smiled sheepishly once more, "So – if it's not too much to ask – exactly how did I get here? Was I hurt? Where am I?"

Shino watched the conversation from his own little corner of the room and – surprisingly – he was rather interested. Saori seemed pretty aloof for someone who couldn't even remember her own name or even the fact that she very nearly drowned. It didn't look like she was going to give them much information about herself and that would make things very complicated because the village would have to put out a notice about her and find her a place to stay until further notice.

"You're in Konohagakure, do you remember the name?" asked Sakura.

"I guess it sounds familiar," Saori thought for a moment, "it is a shinobi village isn't it?"

"That's strange, you can remember the name of the village but nothing about yourself," said Sakura.

Saori shrugged, "If it helps I do kind of remember someone calling me four-eyes-chan…"

"…"

There was a spark of amusement behind Shino's glasses. Saori's glasses were probably more noticeable than Shino's since the large circular frames took up a lot of her face, but somehow it seemed to suit her.

"Hey … wait no! I mean that it sounded like that person knew me really well. Don't ask me how I know, their just was something in the tone that suggested familiarity." Saori added quickly. "And is it just me or are you guys avoiding telling me how I got here?"

"That will have to wait until later, until after I've given you a full examination," stated Sakura – sounding a bit more authoritative since 'Seaka' went off in search of something else to amuse herself with.

Shino remained 'off on his own', merely observing Sakura and Saori talking. Sakura was doing her job, she was giving her a complete medical examination, but she was fishing for any usable information the entire time. She and Shino both knew that they couldn't tell her anything until they figured out the extent of the damage.

Completely out of nowhere Sakura jumped and gave a short – loud – scream, "Where the heck did all these spiders come from?"

There was quite a few of them – five or six – crawling across the examination table and settling on Saori's lap where Seaka used to be.

'_Maybe it is not just a coincidence that there were so many spiders around here and down by the river when I found her,'_ Shino sent a couple kikaichuu out to monitor the room and when they returned they reported that there were at least ten smaller spiders in the room and several more in the hallway. Every arachnid nearby was being drawn to Saori like hundreds of tiny magnets. _'It looks like she's forgotten a lot more than just her name.'_

Saori scooped a few of them off her lap and allowed them to sit on her hand. They didn't appear that they minded the disturbance at all, the spiders simply sat calmly on her hand.

"I guess Seaka isn't the only one that isn't going to leave me alone," Saori mumbled under her breath.

000

It was time for Shino to head back to his house since he'd already helped Sakura finish the evaluation and paperwork for 'Saori'. All things considering, it did not take that long, the diagnosis was obvious when she admitted she couldn't remember anything before waking up.

"_She has traumatic amnesia, which it was caused during her fall down the river. The part of her brain that took the most damage contained all of her long term memory, so everything in her past is gone. She is healing incredibly fast though – faster than she should be – so it's not clear whether her memory loss will be temporary or permanent."_

Saori would be given a small loan from the village and an apartment a few blocks from the hospital while she recovered. She would be given a job – most likely doing paperwork for the hospital – and she would go back to the hospital regularly to get a quick check up from a nurse. Her name and face were already posted and waiting for a corresponding missing persons ad.

With that it marked the end of Shino's involvement in the matter. Case closed. He didn't have to think about it anymore.

There was only one thing that was still bothering him, _'I wonder what those spiders were all about…'_

That night Shino did what he always did when he didn't have much else to do. He sat in his father's study reading all the books passed down in his clan. It was a large room lined with tall shelves and filled with thick volumes on anything any Aburame would ever need to know. There were hundreds of books and it would take Shino most of his life to get through them all, but for still being a teenager he wasn't doing half bad.

He'd really gotten into a particularly thick collection of scrolls when someone knocked on the door, which was odd because, well, no one in the Aburame family were particularly social so there were generally few visitors unless there was a mission.

"Shino, are you there? Its Sakura, I need to talk to you for a second," a female voice called from the other side of the door.

Shino opened the door and stepped out. He didn't have to say anything, his barely visible expression said 'speak now or go away' … Shino was never a particularly social guy.

"Saori is missing," she stated quickly, "I told her to stay overnight for observation, but when the orderly went to her room to bring her supper she wasn't there. She also _borrowed_ some clothes from the laundry room."

The only way Shino really knew Sakura was through Hinata – who were good friends – but he didn't have to know her well to be able to tell she caught on quick.

Sakura sighed, "I know it is late, but do you mind lending a hand? She'll be easy to find since you planted a bug on her."


	4. Observation

**Chapter #3**

**Observation**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto and Co.**

**I'm posting kind of late, but I was working on a nice title page for my story and I wanted to have it done before I posted another chapter. Check out the picture, I'd love to hear what you guys think! (Just take out the spaces.)**

**http:// starchip13. deviantart. com/ art/ Eve- of- the- Spiders- Shino- 62759280 **

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Saori yawned, taking in massive amounts of fresh air blowing over the river. It was a little bit chilly, but it made her feel more energized somehow. It was a positive change from the stale hospital air which smelled too strongly of disinfectant. The outside air felt like it was doing her more good than any hospital and she had no idea why.

Sure, Saori did feel a little guilty about leaving the hospital without telling anyone and taking one of the doctor's jackets without permission, but she needed to get away from the hospital. By the time she made it to the bridge and stopped it had gotten dark and it was likely that they were already looking for her, which also made her feel guilty.

'_I don't remember anything at all,'_ she sighed as she dropped a few pebbles into the slow moving river below her. _'How the heck am I supposed to find my way home? Wait, did I even have a home? Are there loved ones that are missing me right now?'_

Saori groaned and ran her fingers through her hair, "Damn … Seaka, do you have any clue who I am?"

She felt a bit silly, talking to a spider and all, but then again who else was there to talk to?

_Even if I knew, I wouldn't be able to tell you._

The red head's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly as she turned to face Seaka. The large black spider – perched on the railing of the bridge – stared right back at her.

"Hehe, that is just perfect, I'm hearing spiders talk to me, now I know I'm crazy."

_What, only you get to talk?_ The voice responded smartly. _Meanie. _

"…Yup, I'm crazy," Saori stated dryly, "but I'm just going to humor myself and ask one question. If you can understand me and talk back then what the _hell_ was that back at the hospital, huh?"

_You're fun to mess with._

Eyebrow twitch.

"I really don't like you right now."

_Well, I might as well enjoy myself. You're my partner after all._

"I really shouldn't ask, but you know what, I just need to hear what this is about," Saori shrugged. Things had gotten so weird to her that she didn't see much point in denying anything anymore. She'd just go with the flow for the time being, or at least until she regained her memories.

Seaka fidgeted around, teasing the little night bugs that started buzzing over the water. _We're supposed to work together and become strong. That was what I was told anyway. I don't know much, but I'm supposed to train with you. _

Saori cocked a bored eyebrow, "Train for what exactly?"

_Some ninja have connections to creatures caused by Kekkai Genkai. They fight together and lend each other strength and it creates abilities no other ninja have. That was what the elders told me when I was very young. _The tone of Seaka's voice was childish. It was almost like she was reciting a nursery rhyme – something that amused her. _You know what? I always thought humans were really interesting. You're all really bizarre. I really like you're hands, I see humans doing all these interesting things with their hands, like at the hospital for instance…_

"You're an oversized arachnid and you're calling humans weird?" Saori couldn't help but laugh. _'She is talking about bloodlines … so does that mean I was a ninja?'_

It was almost funny how much of a childish personality Seaka had.

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Was it just a coincidence that Shino found Saori standing on the same bridge he found her near? Probably. It wasn't a short walk exactly, but it was a strait shot down the road from the hospital.

She was barefoot and wore one of the white hospital coats pulled around her frame snugly to help keep the cold away. Not that it helped her much – the fabric was too thin and she was still wearing the hospital gown underneath. Every time the wind wiped past her the gown would threaten to fly up, so she was constantly holding it down to cover as much of her bare legs as possible.

The spider – Seaka she called it – was scuttling back and forth across the railing like an exited child.

'_She seems too aloof for someone who can't even remember her own name,'_ observed Shino, _'she smiles and shrugs like there is nothing wrong – like she didn't nearly die.'_

Saori – that was it. She had no surname to identify by and no way to even know her family if she ever found any. If she had any loved ones she would not know their faces if they did find her. Even so, not even twelve hours after she'd waken up, she was _smiling_ and she was _laughing_.

'_I will never understand women…'_ Shino sighed as he stepped out of the shadows. It was cold outside and she needed to get back to the hospital.

Seaka jumped, immediately noticing Shino's presence, which in turn caught Saori's attention. She looked up – auburn hair array and wiping in the wind – and waved lazily at him.

"Hey," she greeted mildly, "you're that guy that was at the hospital … I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name before…"

"Shino."

Saori rubbed the back of her head making it a bit messier – if that was possible. "Gomenasai, I guess they are looking for me at the hospital aren't they?"

There was no need to respond. Saori knew the answer.

"The air in that place is so stale – it's like breathing disinfectant," she whined childishly, "Seaka and I both needed some fresh air. And you never know, maybe walking around the village will bring back a memory or two."

Shino turned to walk back to the hospital, "Come on, you're going to freeze."

"I'm actually not that cold if you can believe it … though I think my feet might have gone numb…" she admitted. It didn't come a surprise, her feet looked a little red and bruised from walking around without any shoes on.

She followed alongside him – her eyes traveled back and forth across her surroundings curiously. Whether she used to live in Konoha or not – it was her first time actually seeing the village. Not that she would be able to see much in the dark.

"I was hurt badly," Saori whispered so quietly the wind nearly overshadowed her words, "wasn't I, Shino-kun?"

"…Hai." He wasn't going to lie to her, but he would leave any further explanation to Sakura. She was he medic after all.

Saori smiled to herself, "It is strange … I get this weird feeling when I look at the river, and all my senses feel, well, it is kind of hard to explain, but it doesn't feel normal. It feels like someone has been messing with the settings in my brain or something, and my head is rebooting… I sound weird don't I? I should just stop talking…"

To Shino's surprise, she was more or less amusing when she talked. She had a weird way of looking at things – including herself.

Saori looked about as comfortable with silence as she did with talking – she also didn't appear to have a problem with the cold. Seaka was continuously running around her feet but she never got in the way of Saori's walking rhythm. It appeared as though they were more synchronized than even _they_ knew.

"How come you aren't more worried?" Shino couldn't help but ask. Shino was truly curious, and something like that didn't happen too often.

"You mean about loosing my memories?" she blinked at him – looking surprised that Shino was finally saying more than two words at a time. "Well, the way I look at it, there isn't much point in getting all worked up about it. Getting all stressed out about it would probably only make things worse and the last thing I need is to complicate my situation more and make it take longer for my memories to return."

'_Her thinking is very logical,' _he noted, _'if she had high stress levels then it would diminish her – already slim – chances of ever getting her memories back.'_

"My chances of getting my memories back aren't looking that great, are they?"

Shino had to hand it to her. Her observation skills were exceptional.

"That nice girl at the hospital – Sakura wasn't it? – was reluctant to tell me anything. I guess I just got a feeling." Her gaze was distant as she spoke, "I guess I find some people easy to read … the way they talk and carry themselves says a lot, and Sakura has a tell when she wants to avoid a subject. By the way she switched topics so quickly I could tell there was something going on, but it is her job I guess … to make sure my health doesn't get worse than it already is…"

Maybe her observation skills were a little more than exceptional. For someone who seemed to flippant and carefree she was surprisingly rational. Young Saori had quite the interesting personality.

'_Was she like this even before she forgot everything?' _wondered Shino.

"You are much more difficult to read – if you were wondering," Saori laughed, "you're very quiet, reserved and – I know this sounds cheesy – mysterious. You don't seem to mind bugs either."

'_This girl is … amusing.'_ Shino's lip twitched with a small smirk behind his coat.

Saori was laughing to herself, "Poor Sakura-chan, being around Seaka made her really on edge. If I was normal I probably be freaked out too, but I don't think constantly pulling spiders out of my sleeves counts as normal. I've had them crawling up my legs since I left the hospital, and, let me tell you, it is one hell of a way to find out I'm ticklish."

The pink haired medic was waiting at the doors of the hospital with her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping rapidly on the cement steps.

"If you were going to steal a lab coat on the way out couldn't you have bothered finding some shoes?" was the first thing Sakura said the moment they were within earshot. "You nearly gave the nurse on duty a heart attack and on top of that I had to go ask Shino to find you."

"If it makes you feel any better, I was going to head back just before he caught up with me." Saori was staring at her feet but Shino still caught a glimpse of a small smile.

"Well, your feet look worse for wear. I'm surprised you don't have frost bite in this cold weather," Sakura muttered as she ushered the girl inside – distinctly avoiding Seaka as she followed her in the building.

Before the glass doors closed Saori gave a small wave, "It was nice meeting you, Shino-kun."

Shino gave a small acknowledging nod back.

Saori intrigued Shino, a young man whose own father describes as being 'socially deficient'. The way she acted was almost child like, but the way her mind worked was almost contradictory to her own personality – she didn't act as smart as she actually was. If Shino had to wager a guess he'd say that her skills, memory and intelligence were right up there with Sakura's.

'_Tonight was very interesting indeed. It definitely wasn't dull.'_

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**Hope you enjoyed. I look forward to your lovely reviews!**

**Starchip13**


	5. Hunting

**Chapter #4**

**Hunting**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto and Co.**

**Hey, sorry for the long wait. Things have been very crazy lately (and the next few weeks are going to get hectic). I hope you enjoy!**

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"I might as well still be sleeping in the hospital," growled Saori.

Saori stared disapprovingly at the shoebox apartment she was living in just down the street from the hospital. The walls were off-white, just like the hospital, and the little bed in the bedroom looked virtually identical to a hospital bed – chrome, white sheets, and all. The room also looked like it wasn't used in quite some time. The windows were opened so the air didn't feel so stale, and it also needed to be dusted, but it looked about the right size for one girl who may or may not even stay all that long.

The village provided her with a tiny one room apartment and a small loan so she could buy food and toiletries. She was required to start looking for any job with a decent supporting salary and start paying it back as soon as she was financially stable.

Seaka was busy running back and forth across the room, exploring everything she could. They were only together a couple of days and Saori already discovered that their connection had some cool little perks. Seaka wasn't only just sensitive to the sound of Saori's voice, but she was also sensitive to Saori's thoughts and emotions. It helped because then it didn't look like Saori was talking to herself.

_I want to go hunting, _announced Seaka, _the only thing I've eaten in the past three days are the puny little insects outside the hospital window. I want something a bit tastier._

"You could have gone hunting while I was in the hospital. There was no need for both of us to stay," Saori reminded.

_Where you go, I go,_ she stated.

"That is going to look lovely when I go hunt for a job…"

_Is hunting for a job similar to my type of hunting?_

Saori laughed, "No not, really."

Seaka made a funny noise, which Saori guessed was her way of pouting. She climbed up onto Saori's back stubbornly, _Where you go, I go! _

'_You act like a four-year-old,'_ Saori impressed mentally. She was starting to get used to Seaka crawling up her back, or at least the sudden extra weight didn't make her fall over.

_Whatever, you're still going to take me hunting later._

Everything about her life would take some getting used to. Saori had to start completely from scratch starting with a home and job. She hoped that maybe some memory would spark to life again, but she wasn't about to get herself worked up over it. For the time being she settled for caring for a giant spider with the maturity of a toddler – at least it was entertaining at times.

'_I'm not dressed for an interview though…'_ Saori sighed as she caught her reflection in the bathroom mirror. She was allowed to go through the clothing donations at the hospital, but almost everything there was too little or too big so everything she had was loose and very casual. The most professional combination of clothes she could come up with was a pair of old kakis and a loose t-shirt with a grinning rice ball on the front.

Armed with the news paper classifieds and a two foot tall, twenty-five pound, spider Saori left her empty shoebox apartment in search of a job.

0000

"I'm heading out," Hinata waved to her father and cousin as she headed to the front door of the Hyuga complex. The two of them were concentrating on a sparing match so they barely responded, but Hanabi smiled and waved at her elder sister as she left.

It was time to train with old teammates again, and this time it didn't look like it would start raining on them again.

The training grounds were on the other side of town from the Hyuga complex, past the hospital and ramen stand, so it wasn't uncommon to run into a lot of old friends or her long time crush, Naruto.

What she didn't expect was to hear Ayame start screaming out of nowhere. The girl had a real set of lungs, Hinata could hear her and she was still a few shops down from the ramen stand.

Her expert eyes could see in perfect detail, even from a distance, so the answer to the question 'why is Ayame screaming' was blatantly obvious. A girl roughly Hinata's age was backing out of the tiny ramen shop and gave a shallow bow with a hefty sized black spider in her arms.

"Gomenasai, Seaka did not mean any harm. She was just curious about the smell of ramen. I swear, she wasn't attacking you or anything. Seaka is more like an immature little kid actually," she rambled in embarrassment – her face was almost the same shade as her hair. "I'll pay for the dish she broke, I promise, but right now I am looking for a job. At the first opportunity I'll pay you back."

"Just get that thing out of here!" screeched Ayame.

'_How unusual,'_ thought Hinata as she watched the girl carry her spider down the street.

After the spider incident Hinata hurried to the training grounds. Shino was already waiting as usual but Kiba wasn't there quite yet. Kiba wasn't late, in fact he was almost always on time, it was only the fact that both his teammates had a habit of being early that made him appear late.

"Good morning, Shino-kun," greeted Hinata.

Shino nodded with a quiet good morning.

Kiba made his usual noisy entrance not long after. Neither of his teammates were expert conversationalists – a quiet bug guy and a stammering Hyuga girl – so the dog lover took it upon himself to be noisy enough for all three of them. He was very good at that job.

"So what have you been up to the past two days, bug freak?" asked Kiba. "I heard from Naruto you found a girl in the river."

Shino cocked an eyebrow, "How would Naruto know that?"

"Well he _is_ teammates with Sakura, and apparently she needed to vent after that girl decided she needed to go out for a walk. You know Naruto somehow he never shuts up when he starts eating ramen." Kiba grinned, "So who was she? She must have been pretty interesting for you to plant a bug on her."

"Shut up," Shino responded in a growl of annoyance. Only Kiba would try and make rescuing a girl into something perverted just to be annoying.

"Well, bug freaks of a feather, I guess…" Kiba snickered.

"W-what do you mean, Kiba-kun?" asked Hinata.

"I haven't seen it yet, but apparently she has this really big spider as a pet." Kiba grinned, "Sakura has a slight arachnophobia problem so she was a little freaked out."

The part about the spider most definitely sounded familiar to Hinata, _'Is he talking about the girl I saw at Ichiraku Ramen?'_

"Enough, Kiba." Naturally Shino sounded angry, he always did hate Kiba calling him 'bug freak', but Hinata couldn't help but think his voice was a little colder than usual that time.

Even for Hinata, Shino was a very hard person to read, for many reasons. He showed so little emotion it was like looking at a mask, and outside of the odd annoyed tone he never sounded particularly angry or defensive. Maybe he had some sympathy towards a fellow bug wielder?

0000

"Good lord," Saori dragged her feet along Konoha's main market street. She could not believe how very tired she was. Everything that could have _possibly_ gone wrong did. All she wanted to do was get back to her apartment and collapse on her hospital style bed.

If it wasn't one thing it was another. If Seaka wasn't getting into something she most certainly wasn't supposed to, her interviews totally bombed. One thing she hadn't anticipated before job hunting was the fact that she didn't have a clue what her own talents and strengths were, so most of the questions were making her draw blanks. She also didn't have any knowledge of any prior job experience _or_ a surname – which she didn't even consider until she tried to fill out an application.

_I know you're feeling down, but could we _please_ go hunting?_ Pleaded Seaka. _You can take a book and wait if you want. You don't have to be right beside me, just nearby. _

'_Fine, fine, I could use some fresh air to help me think anyway,'_ Saori glumly stretched her arms above her head. She hated feeling so down because feeling so down also made her feel exhausted. That was why she was thankful for some fresh air – it energized her and almost cheered her up.

One of her stops she made earlier in the day was at the library. They were looking for a new librarian who would be spend all day checking books back into the system and putting them on the shelves. The head librarian didn't have a problem with spiders, but without any knowledge of how to work the computer system Saori would have been next to useless in the library. Not that Saori was particularly crushed, the air was extremely stale inside the library.

But just because the library couldn't hire her, didn't mean that they wouldn't give her a library card. She enjoyed the books, even if she didn't like the air in the building, she loved learning. It was probably because Saori forgot everything she'd once known so she not only wanted to know about herself, she wanted to know _everything_.

Saori almost completely fit the classic bookworm stereotype. She was slightly taller than the average girl her age, and with long limbs that made her awkward and clumsy. Her glasses were large and round, almost a bit too big for her face, and the 'happy rice ball' t-shirt she was wearing was actually starting to grow on her.

Seaka chose the spot where she knew she would find the best prey while Saori waited in a well lit clearing with her book. The spider ran off into the bush to find food and Saori was absorbed into her reading material – their connection making them aware of each other constantly.

00000

Training ended early that day so nobody would head home in the dark. Aside from that, each of them had patrol duties early in the morning. It was the most boring job a Jounin was required to do because it involved standing on top of the patrol towers staring at nothing but miles of forest surrounding the village walls. More often than not nothing ever happened on patrol rounds, and if something did happen it would get messy. It was a no win situation, and no one ever looked forward to it.

Hinata was planning on heading to bed early so she would be alert when she reported for her shift at five in the morning. To get home faster she took a shortcut through the thicker part of the woods. She knew the woods so well – even without her Bayakugan – it didn't make a difference that the light was poor and there was no path.

The woods were teaming with wildlife, as the pearl eyed Hyuga heiress expected, and each creature simply continued on its way like she wasn't even there. What she didn't expect was to stumble across someone sitting in the dimly lit clearing.

The girl was familiar, and so was her happy rice ball t-shirt. The natural red and dark brown highlights stood out in the setting sunlight which also glinted off the rims of her large round glasses. It wasn't hard to guess why she wore such strong looking glasses, she had a thick book in her pianist hands, reading in such poor light would ruin anyone's eyes.

'_Is she the one that Shino-kun found in the river?'_ Hinata wondered.

The redhead looked up from her book and blinked – presumably to bring the world back into proper focus.

She smiled sheepishly, "Oh, hi there."

"…H-hi," Hinata replied awkwardly.

"I didn't expect anyone to come through here, especially since it is getting a bit late," the redhead stretched out the sore muscles in her long legs and arms, "I suppose that sounds odd coming from me. You're the one that is the Kunoichi, right?"

With a slight nod Hinata asked her own question, "W-what are you d-doing out here all by yourself?"

"I'm waiting for my … friend to get back, so I thought I'd read to kill time." Her stance was casual but she still had a very good posture as she held her hand out for a casual handshake, "I'm Saori."

'_We come across each other and she just strikes up a conversation…?'_ Hinata took the handshake shyly, "H-Hyuga Hinata…"

Saori grinned, "Pleased to meet you."

"… Ano … y-you dropped something." Hinata's delicate pale finger pointed to what looked like a deeply creased piece of news paper that used to be in Saori's back pocket. They could both see the word 'Classifieds' in large bold font on the front.

"Oh, that…" tone dropping, Saori picked up the paper and shoved it back in her pocket, "I was doing a bit of job hunting earlier…"

"…I-It didn't g-go well…?"

"Not really, I actually just got released from the hospital," the redhead ruffled her already mussed up hair, "I was injured and lost my memories, so I'm starting over from scratch right now. There were a few more complications finding a job in my situation than I thought there would be…"

There was an awkward silence. That awkward silence was then interrupted by a couple spiders that crawled on top of Saori's head.

'…_Sakura wasn't kidding about the spider problem…'_ Hinata's inner voice couldn't help but mumble in the back of her mind.

Saori's happy high note voice returned with a vengeance almost immediately after, "You know what, I'm out here to cheer up, and if I'm talking about the bad parts of my day I am not cheering up! I'm just going to have to think over the game plan and try again tomorrow."

Hinata watched Saori grin like an idiot right after she finished explaining that she had no job and no memories of her past. That probably would have given her at least some right to be a bit depressed, but she was _smiling_.

Another spider made its way out of the bushes. It was black with a bright red marking on its back, and about the size of a large housecat. It was the type of thing that would send someone with arachnophobia into a coma.

"Oh, look who is finally back," Saori had a sarcastic tone, "I hope you're stuffed because I lost feeling in my butt two hours ago."

"… Ano … S-Saori-chan … i-if it doesn't s-s-sound w-weird … ano … my h-house is looking for n-new maids…"

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**Starchip13**


	6. Morning Person

**Chapter #5**

**Morning Person**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto and Co.**

**I know you have all waited patiently for me to update so here you go!**

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Aburame Shino was definitely a morning person. Not that he ever appeared particularly cheery, but he was always in a better mood in the morning. It was a common thing for everyone in the Aburame clan to rise and go to sleep with the nature cycle of their insects so early morning look out shifts never got under his skin.

The young bud wielder was wide awake, almost wired, when he left the house. The morning was a little chilly from all the recent rainfall, but his heavy jacket protected him from almost all weather conditions.

'_No doubt Kiba will have a lot to complain about,'_ he thought. Look out shifts were often done in three man teams, which – more often than not – were usually the original three man squads. Since Kiba was almost completely Shino's opposite, so he was most definitely not a morning person.

The Hyuga complex was on the way to the main look out towers at the front gate, so Shino usually swung by so he and Hinata could walk together. They were usually very silent walks, but they were content with it. Why change what works?

There was a feminine voice talking from around the corner of the Hyuga grounds, "Seaka, I told you, there is no way I am giving you coffee."

As expected, a long legged redhead walked around the corner. The light around them was dim, but Shino could still make out the pair of frayed kaki shorts and loose fitting jacket draped over his slim shoulders. She had a small coffee cup in her hand, held out arm's length so the spider on her back could not reach it.

"Oh, good morning, Shino-kun," Saori piped as she continued to keep the coffee cup away from her companion, "You're up mighty early, aren't you?"

"I could say the same for you," he countered. It was the first time he actually registered that Saori used the honorific 'kun' when she spoke to him, even though they only spoke briefly in the past.

Saori nodded with a grin, "I finally got myself a job, isn't that great? I'm working as a maid, but I don't always have to come to work so early in the morning. Since it is my first day someone has to show me what it is I am doing before I start."

There was a slight awkward silence – to which Saori was completely oblivious – between them before Saori offered the coffee cup to Shino, "Do you like coffee? I honestly thought it would taste better but I find it way too bitter. I'm not quite sure which foods I do and don't like yet."

"No, I hate it," he answered truthfully. Last time he tried drinking coffee his kikaichuu had an all out fit. Something about the caffeine super energized them so they couldn't function on even a basic level. The chemical principal was likely the same for Saori, whether she realized it or not. Saori would likely feel wired until the next morning at least, so he almost felt sorry for her employer – whoever that might be.

"S-Saori-chan, you're here…" Hinata's shy figure appeared from the other side of the large wooden double doors.

"Well, of course, and I'm ready to get to work!" Saori grinned. The coffee was definitely a bad idea for someone who always appeared energetic to begin with. The only thing worse that could have been done would have been giving coffee to Naruto.

Shino gawked from behind his glasses, _'Wait, does this mean that the place Saori is working at is…'_

"T-The head maid will show you h-how everything you need to know…" explained Hinata. "I h-hope everything goes well."

"I'll do my best," assured Saori. She looked over Shino and Hinata once again, "Wow, do you two know each other?"

"Hai, we are teammates," answered Hinata.

Saori blinked, "Wow, talk about coincidences."

'_There seems to be a lot of those lately, doesn't there?'_ Shino sighed inwardly. By the looks of things, he would probably run into Saori a lot more than he originally thought.

"You mentioned that you're on guard duty at the look out towers by the front gates, right Hinata? Why don't I bring you and your friends some lunch later?" suggested Saori. "Do you have any preferences?"

"N-No, you d-don't have to do t-t-that, S-Saori-chan…" stuttered Hinata.

The redhead stubbornly waved the Hyuga heiress off, "No, I want to, really. Honestly, how many other people would offer a job to someone they met in the middle of the forest? You could at least let me run some lunch out to you at least."

Hinata still appeared unsure, but Saori suddenly started making an overly exaggerated pouting face and started using phrases like 'pretty pwease' until Hinata cracked a smile and finally gave in. Saori glowed with satisfaction.

'…_Women are very strange,'_ was the only conclusion Shino could come up with after watching the strange scene. Saori was definitely a character, there was no denying that, and Shino was having one hell of a time figuring her out. She was one hell of an optimist, and – even if she had a logical perspective on it – she appeared very carefree despite loosing her past.

Shino felt bemused when he thought of what her response would be. After only a few conversations he felt he could predict her way of thinking with startling accuracy. _"I don't see it as loosing a life - I see it as gaining one. Instead of death I have friends."_

"It was good seeing you again, Shino-kun. I will see you at lunch, Hinata."

0000

Saori made her way around the back of the complex and searched for the back door like she was instructed the night before. It was easy to find, even in poor light, because the dark colour of the wood stood out like an ominous hole in the white wall the surrounded the entire house. The back door was mostly used as a service entrance for the cooks and maids. The lock on it wasn't high tech because no one would be able to slip into the Hyuga household unnoticed, and they certainly weren't concerned by intruders that could be deterred by a locked door.

'_I don't think it would be a good idea for you to come inside. This is one of Konohagakure's noble households, so an oversized spider with a tendency to break things wouldn't be too welcome…'_ Saori pressed the message mentally.

_Pft, noble houses, humans know nothing about nobility,_ Seaka sounded genuinely offended as she spoke. _Insects and arachnids have been around far longer than humans, and we'll be here long after you're gone. And how much respect do you humans give _us_? None! I see cousins of mind swept away with brooms or squashed._

'_Aw, come on, don't be like that,'_ Saori sighed inwardly, _'There are woods right behind the house. I won't be more than a few yards away, and I promise we'll go hunting again.'_

Seaka would have been smirking if she had lips, _Ya, I'm going hunting, but I'll be close enough to make sure your training. _

'_What the heck put you in a mood?'_ Saori started pouting again.

_I want to try the coffee._

"No way in heaven or hell, my dear partner." The answer was so final she forgot about how dumb she must have looked talking to herself.

_But why not?_ Seaka whined.

"If you get high on caffeine I'm not the only one that will have to deal with you. You'll wreck havoc on the entire village, and I don't have time to keep track of what you break today." Saori fidgeted as she waited for the person that would be assigned to train her, "I only had a little bit and I can still feel a buzzing in my skull. I feel like I could run a couple hundred laps right now."

"Excuse me," a thin, wiry, looking woman was standing only a few feet away. Saori hadn't even realized she was being watched until the woman spoke up. "Who are you talking too?"

Seaka blended in well into the night despite the bright red marking on her back, so it wasn't surprising that it _did_ look like Saori was talking to herself.

The silver haired woman blinked at her from behind square spectacles. Everything about her screamed orderly. Her moonlight coloured hair was pulled back into a tight braid and her long bangs were swept neatly to the sides of her face so nothing hung in her soft blue eyes. Her clothes were sensible with not one wrinkle, and even her posture was so perfect and proper Saori thought she could have passed for one of the clan elders – if she had the silver eyes of course.

"No one, Saori lied," she rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "I guess I really shouldn't drink anything caffeinated."

"Are you the new worker Hinata-sama hired?" she asked, pulling her glasses a little low on her nose so she could give Saori a good once over.

Saori nodded, "Hai, that is me."

The woman's lips pursed as she pulled a small key ring from her purse, "We have a lot of work to do before you start. For one thing we should track down a hairbrush for you, and maybe we can fix your bed head."

"But I did comb my hair this morning," protested Saori.

"You could have fooled me," the silver haired woman muttered under her breath, "What is your name?"

"Saori."

"Surname?"

"Don't have one. It's just 'Saori'."

"Well, 'just Saori', I am Sadaka. I'm the head maid here, and I'll be showing you everything you need to know. Which apparently includes how to properly comb your hair and iron your clothes," said Sadaka as she unlocked the back door. "You do know how to cook and clean, don't you?"

Saori shrugged, "I don't know."

"You're parents taught you how to do chores, didn't they?"

"I don't have parents," Saori scratched her head which probably just messed up her hair more, "At least I don't _think_ I do…"

Sadaka was beginning to get annoyed, "How can you not know?"

"I was just released from the hospital a few days ago. I was in an accident – I _think_ – and I guess I hit my head really hard because I can't remember anything." Saori sounded oblivious to how tragic her story sounded.

Sadaka's jaw clicked shut and there was an awkward silence. Saori seemed good at starting those.

"Well, then we have a lot of work to do," Sadaka announced finally. She opened the door and ushered Saori inside, "Most of the family should still be asleep so walk lightly, they're all light sleepers. It's our job to help make breakfast and set the table so everything is ready when they wake up. Then we restock clean towels in the bathroom and start the routine cleaning. Laundry, dusting, sweeping, vacuuming, and so on."

Saori smirked, "You make it sound hard."

"This is a big place, Saori, so don't go thinking that there will only be a bit of cleaning. It also might take you a little while to get used to the routine and get a feel for where everything is." Explained Sadaka. "I hope you have a good memory."

"I remember everything I read if that helps you any," Saori shrugged.

Sadaka continued going on about the chores and where she could find anything she would need as they entered the Hyuga complex.

'_I'll see you in a few hours, Seaka,'_ thought Saori in one last quick goodbye.

0000

Hyuga Neji's alarm started going off. It was loud and extremely annoying so he was quick to silence it with much more force than necessary. He groaned and rolled over for a few seconds so he could stretch out his sore muscles.

Neji wasn't particularly fond of early mornings, but there was no getting out of training when Lee insisted on a sparring match. If he didn't get ready and leave for the training grounds soon Lee would come to the complex to look for him. Neji shuttered at the thought. He learned that lesson the hard way once before, and it was a mistake he was certainly not willing to repeat.

Sitting up, Neji tossed the covers on his bed away lazily and rubbed the sleep away from his eyes. It always took a few minutes for everything to come into focus in the morning, which was another reason why he hated getting out of bed. He hated not being able to see.

As Neji finally got to her feet he turned to his window and drew back the curtains. He immediately recoiled back out of surprise.

He was sure he saw _something_ staring in through his bedroom window, but it was gone so quickly and he still wasn't quite awake.

'_I was sure I saw a really big spider…'_ his eyes scanned the grounds, but if there had been something there it was damn fast and already fled Neji's rang of sight.

Neji scratched his head in exhaustion and headed down the hall to the bathroom while muttering about how much he hated mornings.

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**I apologies, I couldn't resist adding the last bit of the chapter. It was a spurge of silliness on my part, so I hope you found it funny too. I laughed out loud when I imagined it in my head!**

**Also there is some more art for you guys to enjoy! I spent most of yesterday making a piece, and there is also some rockin' awesome fanart by Nanobear that you should all check out! Here are the links, just take out the spaces when you cute and paste.**

**My Art - http:// starchip13. deviantart. com/ art/ Saori-s- Death- 65924953**

**Nanobear's gallery (go see it **_**now**_**) - http:// nanobear. deviantart. com/ gallery/**

**Starchip13**


	7. Lunch Break

**Chapter #6**

**Lunch Break**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto and Co.**

**Sorry for being out of service for so long. School is killing me, and so was the mild writers block I was suffering from. But I'm back now!! Love it!**

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'_This isn't hard at all!'_ thought Saori happily. The kitchen was huge, so the first little while was spent locating all the supplies she would need but she only needed to find them once and the location was committed to memory. After she got the feel of the kitchen the rest was easy.

There were cooks to do the big stuff, but she was still trusted with helping to prepare a few eggs so they wouldn't fall behind. She found that she wasn't a complete amateur at preparing sunny side up eggs. She only broke one yoke out of the whole batch and she didn't burn anything.

Once everything was ready she put them onto serving plates and began helping the others carry them out to the table.

Serving was just as easy. Saori evened her steps so she wouldn't be as clumsy and she striated her posture … after Sadaka scolded her for it. She did as she was told and avoided looking anyone in the eye. The main idea for her was to be as out of the way as possible and to try her best to be invisible, which was actually a little funny when Saori thought about it. Even if she knew little about the Hyuga Kekkai Genkai.

Most of the members of the family were already seated at the table. There was a stern looking man sitting at the head of the table – presumably the head of the clan – with his youngest daughter sitting to his left. There were a few clan elders here and there along with a young man – twenty at the most – sitting close by the clan head's young daughter. None of them had particularly relaxed expressions. They all looked at least someone series, which Saori presumed would make Hinata feel a little like the black sheep of the family. Even with the signature Hyuga eyes, Hinata had a much more kindly expression.

'_How dreary, no one is talking or even looking at each other. They don't seem very social now do they?'_ Saori gently set down the serving plates she was carrying in the middle of the table and accidentally stole a glance from the young Hyuga man directly across from her.

He watched her carefully, which was slightly awkward since there was a spider crawling around under her shirt. It scurried across the ticklish portion of her belly which made it increasingly difficult for Saori to keep a strait face, but somehow she managed.

Saori walked the same way back to the kitchen as she did when she walked in. Easy calculated steps, proper posture, eyes down and ignoring the spider making itself at home in her shirt.

'_That wasn't fun…'_ she thought as she shook the spider out from her shirt.

After all the dishes were collected Saori went on to unloading the towels from the dryers and folding them. Sadaka already explained the basic layout of the house. Saori only needed to be told once before it was committed to memory, apparently it was one of her talents. Her memory wasn't completely perfect, but she could remember more than the average person and anything she deemed important, useful or interesting she could almost always recall with startling accuracy. It was just a matter of knowing exactly what would be most useful later.

Saori carried the large pile of fluffy white towels in her arm. Her nose cringed a little because the strong scent in the detergent was rather irritating. She knew right then that she didn't like pungent perfumes as well as stale air.

A couple spiders crawled on top of the pile of towels so they were eye level with her. Somehow she knew they didn't like the detergent either, but she had no clue how.

"Interesting, most women are afraid of spiders…"

Saori jumped, nearly dropping the entire pile of towels. She turned around to face the offending voice that seemingly came out of nowhere. The young man from the breakfast table was standing right behind her and she didn't even hear him coming.

The corner of his lip quirked, "You know, I thought I saw something trying to climb in my window this morning. I could have sworn it was a large spider … maybe about the size of a large house cat."

'_I should have known Seaka would try to get in the house,'_ Saori bit her lip. She felt very uncomfortable under his glare, like his eyes could event tell what she was thinking, "It is surprising how you think you've seen it all and then you're proven wrong."

"From what I gather, they are following you," he stated calmly, "and interesting skill for someone who is a housemaid."

"Well, if you know any occupations that would find a beacon for spiders handy be sure to let me know." Saori sounded a little sarcastic, but she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the strange Hyuga staring at her so intensely

He smirked again, "Your little skill looks like a specialty someone from a ninja family would have. Bug tamers aren't exactly common."

"I'm unusual, I gathered that," Saori couldn't help but smirk. "You're relative has a much kinder gaze. What are you, siblings? Cousins?"

"The latter," he responded, "but you should still show me the same respect. I am still a high ranking member of one of the side branches."

"And you should learn to relax a little. I'm not here to steal secrets or assassinate anyone. I suspect I would be quite a useless spy if I attract so much attention," Saori was tempted to stick her tongue out like a child, but for the sake of not looking like a moron she resisted. "I just need a job so I can pay rent. That is all."

"Who says I thought you were a spy?"

"Just a lucky guess."

They stared at each other, sizing up one another skeptically. Neji had a scrutinizing and almost frustratingly blank stare. Saori could even figure Shino out from time to time, but Neji was like a piece of slate. Likewise, Neji saw Saori as a strange, awkward, girl with a somewhat shop tongue and an aura of mystery despite the openness of her emotions. The two were not compatible in the least, and they were simultaneously thinking of ways to purposely avoid each other in the future.

Saori turned away from Neji without another word, not that he cared. She resumed putting away the fresh towels and picked up a couple loads of laundry to toss down the chutes before running off to find the cleaning supplies.

The morning went my quickly and without any other notable events. Before Saori knew it, it was almost noon, and she rushed to the kitchen to prepare lunches to take to Hinata and her friends. She put together a few different types of things just in case someone had a preference, even though the cook already knew Hinata's favourite foods, Saori was at a loss to what Shino would want.

'_Oh well, just improvise, I guess…'_

0000

"Aw man, guard duty sucks," Kiba whined under his breath, only just loud enough to start getting on Shino's nerves. Shino wasn't exactly keeping count, but if he had to estimate he'd say that was the sixth time in roughly twenty minutes Kiba said that.

"Just b-be patient K-Kiba-kun," Hinata reminded timidly.

Shino gazed over the side of the stone walls from their assigned look out tower by the front gates. Only a handful of merchants and travelers were passing through the gates that day, nothing special, which explained Kiba's incisive childish whining. Shino didn't get bored so easily since he usually stuck rigidly to the principals of his mission. His kikaichuu bugs were crawling over the outside walls of the tower to detect any foreign chakra if any should appear. Once and a while a bug would return to his body silently by crawling up his sleeve to rest and another would go out and take its place. His insects had a steady rhythm that way which he was very accustom to, so much so that it was almost comforting at times. People could be as spontaneous as they wanted, but insects were more or less predictable.

One kikaichuu returned to Shino's body after detecting a chakra source, though not a particularly strong one and certainly without any dangerous intent. It also was quite familiar, which was confirmed when another kikaichuu reported an abnormally high number of spiders coming towards the gates.

Right on cue – Shino heard a voice call up from the ground below, "Hinata-chan, Shino-kun, are you up there?"

Hinata glanced over the side of the wall and waved down, "H-hai, Saori-chan."

Saori beamed up at them and pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. She gestured toward her backpack, "I've brought lunch. May I come up?"

"H-Hold on, I-I'll let you in." With that Hinata whisked away gracefully wards the cramped spiral staircase that led down to the door at the base of the tower. Normally it was kept locked so it could only be opened from the inside. It had its advantages because there was always someone in the tower, but the drawback was the fact that anyone on duty was forced to constantly run up and down the stairs to let anyone inside.

"Who was that," Kiba sniffed the air in curiosity, as did Akamaru, "did she say she brought lunches?"

"That was Saori, she is working at the Hyuga house," Shino answered simply.

The two girls appeared around the tight corner of the staircase a moment later. Seaka scuttled past them excitedly and caught Akamaru off guard, making him rear back and growl softly. It made sense, considering that Seaka's scent was probably the same as any other arachnid.

Saori dug through her backpack and pulled out three lunch boxes. She rubbed the back of her head as she handed them to Hinata, "I apologize, I didn't realize there would be three of you here. I made and extra one for myself, but your friend can feel free to eat it if it is the type of food he likes."

"That is very nice of you, those smell delicious," Kiba grinned and gave Saori's hand a rough shake, "Nice to meet you, spider freak, I'm Kiba and this is Akamaru."

"Spider freak?" Saori half squeaked in surprise at the bizarre nickname that was trust upon her.

Shino resisted giving a growl of annoyance. How inconsiderate could Kiba be? Especially when it was towards someone he just met. And on top of everything else he gave her an offensive nickname when Shino just told him her actual name. Saori also when through all that trouble to bring them lunch. Sometimes Kiba acted a little bit too much like Naruto.

"No problem, I brought a backup anyway," Saori proceeded to pull a large apple from the bottom of her bag. "I'll just munch on this. Fresh fruit is delicious."

The four of them started eating their lunches. Hinata's lunch box had a salad, Kiba's had strips of curry chicken – which he shared with Akamaru – and rice, and Shino's was full of an assortment of Onigiri.

"You're the first new bug freak I've met in a while," Kiba stated between mouthfuls of chicken and rice, "what clan do you belong to?"

"None," Saori swallowed a large bite of her apple, "not that I know of anyway. I had to stay in the hospital for a while because of a spell of amnesia, and I'm working at the Hinata-chan's house to pay my rent."

Saori spoke about her condition so plainly that someone might not think it was a big deal. Even someone like Kiba could realize how horrible forgetting everything would be, but then again Saori was a strangely flippant individual. Her outlook on her memory loss was as casual as the weather. Saori also didn't appear to notice how tense the air was for a moment – or possibly she didn't care.

"Sorry, I can't stay long, I don't think it should be on lunch break forever." Saori waved farewell as she showed herself to the door – Seaka in tow, "I'll see you all later."

Not a second after she left, Kiba turned to Hinata and asked, "How long until bug freak and spider freak are a couple?"

Hinata was taken back by the question and Shino growled in annoyance.

"And you ask this because…?" asked Shino.

"You both have a thing for bugs. I bet she is one of the few girls that won't run away screaming if you happened to let out your kikaichuu, so why not?" Kiba shrugged like it wasn't an awkward conversation at all. "Besides, you need someone who is … how shall I put it … fun."

"K-Kiba-kun…" Hinata sighed.

"I barely know her," Shino stated flatly.

"She barely knows _herself_," Kiba pointed out.

Shino's eyes followed Saori as she walked back to the Hyuga complex. Seaka climbed up on top of her backpack so she could sit comfortably and Saori quirked a smile. He hated to admit it, but Kiba was right. Other than Hinata – whom became accustom to Shino's bugs – there were probably very few girls in the village who would be able to stay near him for long amounts of time. Saori was simply oblivious to the common fears of any other ordinary girl. She was just Saori, she was in a category all her own.

"The world doesn't work like that, Kiba," Shino finally responded, "The world is messy, and things never work out so accordingly."

0000

_Saori, you're not listening to me, again!_

The breeze tussled with Saori's unruly red hair as it made its way across one of the small training grounds. Saori stretched out on the ground, the grass beneath her belly, and the scent of fresh air filling her lungs. It felt so nice to be off her feet, if not only for a few minutes, and just let the air – saturated with the scent of rain – carry her thoughts far, far, away from her. Unfortunately Seaka's prattling was making it difficult for her to zone out for too long. Seaka could sense when she was being ignored, which was apparently one of her biggest pet peeves. Seaka started pacing back and forth and making little hissing sounds to keep Saori focused.

_Chakra is your best tool. Spiders are naturally drawn to the scent of your chakra, so if you learn to use it right you can summon swarms of us at a moment's notice just by releasing small bursts of chakra. _

"How am I going to do that?" Saori felt comfortable talking aloud to Seaka because she was fairly curtain that she was alone.

_Chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy. It's like a life force, so if you learn how to recognize it and concentrate hard enough to use it then the real training can begin. Sit up._

"Yes, master," Saori responded jokingly. She pushed herself up into a sitting position and cross her legs.

_Place one hand on each knee, palms up, and then close your eyes._

Saori did as she was told.

_Concentrate on the palms of your hands. Once you get that down start expanding the field of vision in your mind. Got it?_

Nod.

_Good, now I'm going to go hunting. I'll be back soon to check up on you._

Saori felt Seaka's presence in her mind grow dimmer, she'd taken off somewhere. Begrudgingly, she pictured the palms of her hands in her mind. Her memory was excellent, so she knew her own hands well enough in her mind to see it as a picture. Her wrists were thin and delicate looking, and attached to her wrist was her flat and narrow palms which were almost too boney to be appealing at all. Her fingers were the best feature of her hands because of how long and slim they were. The knuckles didn't bulge at all, and her fingernails were also somewhat narrow but tough enough not to break off easily. Saori's mind probed even deeper than that after a while, going below the skin to the layers of muscles and tendons that attached to those long fingers and the ridges of her knuckles and wrist. Veins branched out over the tissue, bringing oxygen to the cells so everything would live and move as one unit. She felt the energy flowing through her hands with every heartbeat.

'_How amazing,'_ Saori's eyebrows arched in fascination while her eyes remained closed. She did not want to loose her concentration. She wanted to discover the chakra that Seaka was talking about.

There was something else that flowed around the intricate network of veins in her hands that she could feel. It was warm, almost hot, and it stood out among the inner workings of her body. The network of the mysterious energy intertwined with her veins, then the arteries extending up her arm, onto all her internal organs and up and down her spinal cords. In her mind the colour was also different from everything else, it was blue, which set it apart despite the fact that it was entangled with the functions of the rest of her body. It roamed throughout her body with the pulsing of her heart, but Saori knew she was supposed to learn to control it, so why not start by pushing as much as possible to one part of her body?

Saori bit her lip, _'Wow, its like learning to walk again. Well, here goes nothing…'_

With all her will, Saori made her first attempt to 'push' the chakra in her body, but it didn't have any noticeable affects. Her second attempt was also unsuccessful. It wasn't like moving a body part, which was second nature and didn't require any actual thought. It took a little more effort at first than she first thought, but eventually she noticed some of her chakra would flow to her palms when she concentrated hard enough. Eventually she was able to gather enough to force out of her body through the pores of her skin like a fine mist.

Saori yawned, breaking her concentration with the realization of how tired she actually was. She was even to tired to care about the fact that every inch of her hands and arms were covered in spiders of all shapes and sizes. The sun was already set, so she had to have been sitting there for a few hours at least, and it didn't even feel like it.

'_Time really does fly…'_ Saori scratched her head and yawned again. The tiny spiders covering her fingers took cover by scuttling up her arm and settling on her shoulder.

A tiny rock pegged Saori in the back of the head. She spun around – disturbing the spiders on her arms – and glared at Seaka.

_Not bad for your first try, but you only did half of what I asked. If you expand yours sights beyond the chakra inside your body. You're blind as a bat, Saori, so incase you ever loose your glasses you should use your chakra to see. _

"Gee, that is a confidence booster, Seakagokegumo-chan."

_My full name doesn't bother me. You're being childish. _

"You're the one that hit me with a stone and you're calling _me_ childish?"

_When you zone out, you really zone out. _

Pouting, Saori turned her attention to the spiders on her arms, "Alright fellas, time to vamoose. Saori is hungry enough to eat one of you."

_That's so not funny_.

"Calm down, it was just a figure of speech," laughed Saori.

_Make all the jokes you want, you're still finishing the exercise tomorrow after work … and letting me try your coffee next time. _

"Not a chance."

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**Merry Christmas everyone! I am asking Santa for plenty of reviews over the holidays!!**


	8. Marco Polo

1**Chapter #8**

**Marco Polo **

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Naruto and Co.**

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"_Latrodectus Hasselti_: the red-back spider is a neurotoxic spider that is native to Australia…" Saori pushed her glasses back up to the proper position on the bridge of her nose, "Seaka, you don't sound Australian."

_I don't have lips or a human mouth so of course I don't have an accent. What do you take me for, a human?_

Saori sat cross legged on the hospital style bed in her apartment with a book from the library propped up on her knees. After only a week she had taken full advantage of her membership at the library so she could do as much research as possible on every available subject that she thought would be useful. The books ranged from – the obvious – species of spiders that were available to her to the history of shinobi and the villages. There weren't any informational texts on techniques or Kekkai Genkai available in the public library. Those were kept in either the academy or the Hokage tower depending on their classification, so civilians didn't have access to them. Seaka insisted that both she and her elders knew everything that Saori would ever need to know.

"It says the venom from your species is toxic but not usually fatal, but that is referring to regular sized spiders. With your size your bite could be lethal and painful beyond belief, am I right?"

_Correct, humans are rather fragile. Unlike normal spiders I can control the amount of venom I administer so I can cause as much pain as I wish. Those books can only give you an idea of what to expect. Once you learn other techniques and are able to call more powerful spiders their size changes everything humans think they know. _

Saori glanced at Seaka's bed in the corner of her room. It was a funnel type web suspended about a food off the floor where Seaka slept and caught the occasional house fly as a snack.

As agreed Saori went out with Seaka every day after work to practice her basic chakra control, things six or seven-year-old children learn in their first year of ninja academy. But what Saori lacked in experience she made up for in fast progress. She couldn't perform actual jutsu or techniques yet, but she wasn't far from it.

Saori was able to close her eyes and feel her way around with her chakra. Spiders reacted to vibrations and sound, so with the help of her chakra her skin was sensitive enough to pick up the presence of other spiders.

_We should start training soon._ Seaka crawled out of her web and up the side of Saori's bed. _I want you to start learning jutsu soon, but for that to happen you need to first start using your chakra sight for more than just summoning spiders. That is the easy part._

"Are you going to start making fun of my eyesight again?"

_There is no need for that anymore..._ Seaka paused dramatically.

"Seaka ... what are you–?"

The black spider jumped at Saori's face, knocking her to the bed, and then running off. It happened so quickly that Saori had to blink a few times before she realized that Seaka just ran off with her glasses.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Saori screeched as she jumped off the bed in pursuit of the redback spider. Unfortunately her vision was terrible without her glasses so she tripped on the pair of slippers she had sitting near the bed.

_To find me you'll have to see more than just spiders and insects, you'll have to see people and inanimate objects! Good luck!_

'_Seakagokegumo, get back here right now!'_ Trying to communicate through their link wasn't working because Seaka refused to respond to her.

Saori sat on the floor and groaned in defeat. How in the world was she going to track down Seaka when she could barely see her hand in front of her face? Seaka was so fast too so even if Saori could see her she would still have trouble keeping up, but she couldn't wait too long or Seaka would have such a head start that there would be no hope of finding her.

Before Saori even reached the door of her apartment she tripped over a pair of shoes and smacked her head off the floor. She groaned in pain. Her mission was going to be harder than she thought.

To be sure she didn't fall on her face again, Saori took the stairs slow, and took her time walking across the lawn to the sidewalk. She concentrated hard on the blurry blocks of colour that separated the lawn from the sidewalk and the sidewalk from the curb. The last thing she needed was to fall off the curb and sprain something.

Figuring out which way she was going to go was easy enough. She could still faintly sense which direction Seaka was headed, but she was cutting strait through people's yards. Being blind was one thing, but being blind and trying to take a short cut through stranger's yards was not a good idea. Besides, unknown yards meant possible obstacles for Saori to trip over. So, begrudgingly, she walked along the side of the street around the block.

'_This is going to take a while...'_

The street was filled with blurry moving shapes in all directions and a clamor that could have deafened her. It didn't take long for her to get tired of apologizing to the people she kept bumping into and walking into inanimate objects. Eventually people were going to think she wasn't all there in the head, but Saori had more important things to worry about, like getting her eyesight back.

"Watch where you're going!" a woman snapped.

"Sorry, sorry!" Saori responded sheepishly, _'If I make it through this alive, I'm investing in contacts or maybe corrective surgery...'_

Saori thought about the books she'd been pouring all her time into, trying to remember anything that would come in handy. Spiders, big and small, saw mostly through vibrations through their feet. That is how they knew when something was caught on their web. Saori could see with a thin veil of chakra, but that really only worked for spiders and other insects, plus if she tried it then she'd have every spider in the village attached to her back. But when Saori thought about it, maybe trying to feel things through her feet wasn't a bad idea. She could speak telepathically with an oversized spider, so sensing vibrations through her feet wasn't that much of a stretch.

With a sigh, Saori found the nearest wall to lean on and removed her shoes. The ground was cool under her feet and her feet were sensitive enough to feel almost every single bit of dirt, but tough enough not to be overly bothered by the tiny pebbles. Though if there was broken glass anywhere she was definitely screwed.

Naturally, Saori wasn't sure what to do at first. She didn't feel any different at first, the only thing different was the fact that the pavement was cooling her toes. So she tried pushing some chakra towards her feet - which was harder than her hands - and increased their sensitivity. Vibrations made the souls of her feet tingle, and at first they meant absolutely nothing to her, they were just funny sensations streaming up her legs. Some of them were rhythmic - people walking - and some was light buzzing - electrical power lines or mechanical devices in the stores. It was like looking through a fuzzy TV screen and trying to make sense of white noise, nearly impossible.

Saori took a step, sending vibrations of her own across the ground that bounced back when they hit anything solid like objects that were touching the ground. The soul of her foot was suddenly bombarded with not only the vibrations from others, but her own as well. It was enough to give her a headache.

Footsteps, step a little to the right.

Solid object, move to the left.

Stop a wait for something with wheels - vender cart? - to pass.

It was far from perfect, but she wasn't blindly walking into things anymore. Saori could tell roughly where things were, even without the use of her _very_ limited eyesight. So long as it was within range and not in the air, Saori could tell something was in front of her, but knowing exactly _what_ was a different story. It was like staring at faceless silhouettes instead of actual people.

'_You better hope I don't find you, Seaka...'_ Saori wasn't sure if Seaka could actually hear her, but they could sense one another, so that was good enough. Saori was beginning to catch up.

Once Saori was comfortable enough with her new form of vision she increased her pace to a sprint. She could sense Seaka getting cocky. Seaka was slowing her pace on purpose because she wanted a real chase and that would only happen if Saori got close enough to see Seaka in her new field of vision.

With a burst of chakra, Saori took off into the woods just outside the training grounds, "You better hope I don't catch up."

0000

"Come on, Akamaru, let's take him down!"

Shino braced himself, rapidly forming hand seals and activating his jutsu. He quickly took cover as a nearby log took the blow from the bear sized dog. Akamaru crushed the log in his teeth, sending the splinters flying in all directions, as he skidded to a stop. There were deep track marks from his landing because of both his size and his incredible speed.

"You're not getting away so easily," Kiba leapt out from the trees above Shino, his beast jutsu already in affect, and his claws ready for the attack.

Kiba just about reached his target when a cloud of kikaichuu attacked him, feeding viciously at his chakra. He hit the ground and rolled out of the swarm to escape back into the cover of the trees. The angry insects followed him, chasing him back far enough for Shino to regain his stance and pursue his teammate.

Akamaru bounded back into the scene again to assist his master before turning around and snapping at Shino again.

The two of them got a lot faster since the old days, so Shino had to stay on his toes. He couldn't afford to give them a single opening or they'd simply overwhelm him, but despite their progress, his Kikaichuu were usually enough to deplete Kiba's chakra reserves. Once that was gone then the match was done because Kiba would not waste food pills on a training match.

Shino leapt for cover when Hinata burst out of the bushes behind him. He evaded her hit and stayed clear out of her range, but there would be no hiding from her when her bayakugan was activated. A small cloud of Kikaichuu blocked Hinata from making another blow. They absorbed the chakra on her hand, forcing her to reel back to shake them off.

A few of the scouting bugs returned to Shino in the midst of the battle informing him of an incoming spider of abnormally large size...

'_Seaka?'_

A black and red blur streaked across the training grounds, right through the middle of the fight. Everyone paused and stared at the bushes where the spider disappeared.

"What the hell?" muttered Kiba.

"T-That was Seaka ... a-and I think she was carrying S-Saori-chan's g-glasses..." Hinata fidgeted before facing the opposite direction, "S-she doesn't look very h-happy..."

Kiba cocked and eyebrow, "What are you talking about–?"

"Seaka, get back here with my glasses _right now_ you lady!!"

A few crashing noises and some twig snapping later a lean, long legged figure, in a happy rice ball t-shirt leapt through the bushes and hit the ground running. The first thing Shino noticed about Saori was the fact that Saori was indeed not wearing her glasses and the second was that she was carrying her shoes and not wearing them.

"Excuse me, pardon me, please don't mind me, just passing through!" Saori panted as she dashed through the training grounds after her spider.

'_She's incredibly fast,'_ noted Shino.

"Now there's something you don't see every day," Kiba smirked, "Shino's girlfriend running around without her nose in a book."

"K-Kiba-kun!" gasped Hinata.

Shino scowled, "What makes you think–"

"Oh, no reason, just that the two of you seem to be inexplicably drawn to one another. How many coincidences can happen that make sure you see each other as much as possible, honestly?" Kiba grinned, "Plus you just have sooo much in common..."

"One more word–" growled Shino.

"What?" asked Kiba coyly. "Brainy, bookworm, bug freaks aren't your type?"

Just listening to the conversation was making Hinata turn fire engine red, "K-Kiba, s-s-stop teasing S-Shino-k-k-kun..."

Shino glared at Kiba and that smug grin of his. At that moment he wanted to hit the smile right off his face.

"I-Incoming," announced Hinata.

Seaka bursted back through the bushes and landed in the middle of the clearing. Saori lunged through the bushes only seconds behind and pinned the struggling arachnid to the ground.

"Ha! I caught you," Saori yelled triumphantly as she reclaimed her stolen glasses. "That is what you get for being so cocky!"

Saori placed the large round frames on her nose and smiled as her world came back into focus. She glanced around her surroundings until her eyes landed on the three jounin that were staring at her.

"Oh, hey," Saori rubbed her head sheepishly, "I didn't know that it was you three out here."

"What are you doing?" asked Shino briskly.

"Just getting my glasses back," she answered, "it really sucks walking around without them. I can't tell who the heck is in front of me yet."

Kiba cocked and eyebrow, "Yet?"

"Ya, these puppies are stronger than the Hubble Telescope, so I could see a thing without them. I've been running around for hours trying to track Seaka down, and I only just caught up to her." Saori lifted her knees and unpinned her spider companion, "I have to say, there are better ways to train me than blinding me, but I guess it worked. I just wish Seaka didn't take so much joy in watching me fall on my face."

"What would taking your glasses do for training?" asked Kiba, genuinely curious.

"Spiders can 'see' things through vibrations that travel through the ground. Seaka has been bugging me about trying to see without my glasses so she forced me to by taking my glasses. It took a couple hours to actually get it to work for me and I had to take off my shoes to see a thing, but I can kinda tell where things are." Saori wiggled her bare toes, Shino assumed that they were very if she was walking around for hours with no shoes on. "Do you guys know you make a lot of 'noise'? I could feel you running around out here all the way from the street."

"We were training," Shino stated.

Saori blinked, "Oh, I'm sorry I interrupted your training, Shino-kun."

Kiba laughed and gave Shino a playful shove, "Oh, don't mind the bug freak, he's just in a bad mood because I said–"

Shino cut his teammate off before he could finish, "Enough, Kiba."

"Well, I'll let the two of you get back to your training. I'm sorry for interrupting you," Saori smiled. "Now that I have my glasses I can go back to town and get new shoes."

"W-What is w-wrong with yours...?" asked Hinata.

Holding the shoes in her hand, Saori tapped the souls, "They're too thick on the bottom and it makes it hard to sense vibration through my feet. I will need something with thinner souls so my feet don't freeze but I can still see through the ground. It might come in handy one day."

"Well, why don't you stay and train with us?" suggested Kiba. "You look fast, so why not put your training to the test?"

Seaka started running around in excited circles, making Akamaru jump and start making a fuss as well.

Saori smiled, "Those two seem all for it. Seaka says she wants to show me some new moves now that I'm not so dependent on my eyesight - or lack there of."

"You would willingly try to fight three jounin level shinobi? That is foolish for a civilian," stated Shino. He knew Saori was the free spirit and didn't have any fear whatsoever - he wasn't sure whether that made her brave or simply stupid - but she must have had some vague idea of exactly how powerful elite ninja were. There was a good chance Saori would seriously get hurt.

The redheaded spider tamer shrugged, "Why not, for all I know I might have had some skills at some point. Considering my progress, I'm either a very fast learner or I knew things before. Which do you think is most likely?"

Making valid points was something Saori did well, and Shino was starting to find it rather irritating. Saori could have been anything before she nearly drowned in the river and she decided to see if she was a former ninja by fighting Jounin without proper training? Saori was the dumbest smart person Shino ever met in his life, and Kiba was not helping matters any.

"The rules of the match are simple, we can either go all against one, or - since we have an even number of people - two against two. All you have to do is pin the other person - or team in this case - and you win. The time limit is sundown and loser buys supper." Kiba shot another smug grin in Shino's general direction, "What do you say? Hinata and me against the bug freaks?"

Shino was about to open his mouth and object when Saori interrupted him, "Sure, why not? I'll have someone to show me the ropes that way!"

"Alright, Hinata and I get to hide, you guys come find us, and that is when the battle starts." With that Hinata, Kiba and Akamaru took off into the cover of the trees. Saori felt through the souls of her feet as they put more and more distance between the groups.

"You didn't have to agree to this," Shino stated bluntly.

"I know," Saori responded indifferently, "but if I didn't Saori would never let me hear the end of it. Believe me, you don't want her whiney voice going on and on about training when you're trying to sleep. Nothing drowns it out."

The bug wielder scowled again, "You could get hurt, badly."

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you are worried about me, Shino-kun."

Jaw clamped shut, Shino stared through his dark glasses at the girl in front of him whole smiled back oblivious to his expression. She was unusual, smart and starting to get inside his head. Shino did not like it at all.

"Relax, Shino-kun, I'm only kidding. You should relax a little, you know? You don't have to be so defensive around me."

Shino was very much tempted to say 'I'm not being defensive' but was able to hold back because - among other things - it would make him sound like he was eight years old. Though, if they were little kids bickering in the woods, Saori would feel right at home because she was more or less a kid in a teenager's body. He supposed it was that quality that made Shino get annoyed with her because it made her readily agree to a fight, thinking it was just a game. For a bookworm, Saori sure wasn't using her head.

Saori smiled, "Calm down, we might have somewhat of an advantage here. I highly doubt Kiba-kun expects me to take this seriously, or be able to keep up, and Hinata-chan is too nice to really hurt me on purpose. They might hold back around me, which will leave openings."

"That is a big gamble."

"Not really. I'm not a big numbers girl, but I'd say the chances of them holding back a little because I'm here are about seventy percent. Maybe even a little higher."

With a sigh Shino finally responded, "You better really be up to this."

"Don't worry, people make the mistake of underestimating their opponent all the time. Smart people don't underestimate an opponent, no matter how small they are."

That was the first time Shino ever hear someone else take the words right out of his mouth.

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**Yay, sorry it took so long to update again. Exams and culminating activities are killing me! But I'm gonna make it up to you guys because I'm working on some more art for this story as well. I'll probably have it up the next time I post a chapter, but if you want you can keep an eye on the gallery yourselves. (Just remove spaces) www. starchip13. deviantart. com**


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